Ok, time to start the photo tour of the Straits course!
If you haven't read Ran's 2003 review of WS, you might want to before reading on and viewing this photo tour. His review is here:
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/whistling-straits-wi-usa/My group teed off mid-morning in late May and the day started off calm and lighting conditions for most of the front nine was very good (except the opening hole which is running pretty much east into the just risen sun; but then around the 9th hole a marine layer comes in and leads to some very interesting pictures for many holes).
It is difficult to put a simple figure from Google Earth to show the routing at WS. The course runs along the western shore of Lake Michigan. I've cobbled together a diagram that I think nicely displays the routing (and if you've been following along for the last few months, I've settled on particular colors for the routings, where yellow is a par 3, blue a par 4, and green a par 5).
#1. Par 4.
Here's a view from the tips about an hour or so before I teed off:
Green tee view of this slight-dogleg left where rightish in the fw is best:
My tee shot went left but I got back to get this decent approach shot view from the less ideal left edge of the fw:
From just short of the green:
From a slight rise over the green:
#2. Par 5.
View from the tips, where I actually find this site line more appealing than the green tee view:
Green tee view:
Second shot view:
There is actually rough left on this hole (you'll see why this hole can't run along the water soon enough):
From just short of the green, where a pot bunker to the right in the pic must be avoided:
No fun this bunker:
Bailout area right of the green:
From over the green:
The reason why the 2nd doesn't run right along the coast is that the par 3 seventh hole is situated there! Here is a view that shows the 2nd pin and the 7th green in the distance to the right:
#3. Par 3.
Wider view from the green tees:
More zoomed tee box view:
From just short of the green, which sort of shows a foggy mist on top of the green as the cool morning breeze was coming off the lake and condensing water evaporating from the green on this sunny day:
The view of the large 3rd green from a rise over the green:
It was not very windy this morning, so from the green tees the first three holes were challenging, but not too difficult. The fourth hole is tough and that will start off our next three holes tomorrow!